Just Another Game of Make-Believe
by through-the-frozen-tardis
Summary: Ever since she was little she had these dreams. Dreams of a giant blue box driven by a man who looks so familiar and yet so strange to her, always whisking her away to amazing and faraway places. Everyone says she's just a child with an exceptionally brilliant imagination. But what happens when she uncovers a family secret so big, even her imagination isn't prepared?
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter One**_

* * *

The air was crisp, the breeze was comfortable, the sun played the perfect game of peek-a-boo with the clouds. Birds sang, squirrels chattered, rabbits scampered. All around them color exploded from the trees. Reds and yellows and oranges, coming together to set the perfect scene on the perfect day.

And if they didn't hurry up and get wherever they were going she would have to leave her feet right there and have him carry her the rest of the way.

"How much further?" she asked, doing her best not to sound whiny. He only laughed.

"Not much," he answered. He squeezed her hand in his as he glanced down at her. Anyone who knew the pair knew the look he gave her so well. How his eyes would study every possible detail, finding something new to love every single time; how his smile would beam with pride, no matter what she was doing; how his body was just so much more relaxed and at peace when he was with her. His whole world, walking right there next to him, and she would never know just how much she meant to him, just how perfect she was in his eyes. He raised an eyebrow in a smirk as she, oblivious, kept looking down at her feet. She wondered how much longer they could carry her.

"Ah! There it is!" He nodded towards a stream just ahead. "Not much longer now." Her groan of relief was answered with his laughter. Another moment and they were at the bank.

"Watch your step," he warned. "One rock at a time, now." He gently grabbed her arms from behind.

"I'm fine," she assured him, laughter in her voice. He watched carefully as she took step forward across the tiny stretch of water onto the stone. She wobbled a tad as she brought her other foot over, and his heart nearly stopped. Arms out for balance she glanced back over her shoulder at him, sticking her tongue out. "See?" She turned back around. There were several more stones to make up the path and, she didn't want to admit it, but she was glad he was right on her heels. She wasn't exactly the most coordinated, and this wasn't exactly the best time for that. A moment later she was safely on the other side of the stream, and in less than another moment he was by her side once more.

The deeper they treaded into the woods the less it seemed to be alive. The trees towered high above their heads but they heard no birds chirping. There were bushes and shrubs scattered along their path but they heard no small creatures scampering. Only the soft crunch of leaves and twigs beneath their shoes sounded through the silence. "It's so peaceful out here," she said softly, her arm clutching tightly to his. But he could hear her voice quiver. He held her tighter and looked around them.

"Yeah," he agreed after a moment. "I think I'd like to have a cottage out here someday." He felt a sudden jerk on his arm as she halted.

"You _are_ mad, aren't you?"

"Well, why not?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her. He began to walk again as she continued to stand there, staring at him in near shock. "You said it was peaceful."

"Well...yes. But that doesn't mean I'd want to live out here!"

"Well, not _live_, per say." He shrugged and kept moving.

"Then what do you mean?"

"Oh, I dunno." And then he turned back around to face her, no longer walking, his hands in his pockets like usual. "Maybe to take a trip or two?"

A smile spread across her face, a smile he'd only known from memories not entirely his own, but he knew it so well. She ran to him and he grinned, catching her and holding her tightly to him.

"You shouldn't be running like that," he said into her ear. She only buried her face into his jacket as she laughed.

"I'm barely showing! I'll be fine." She stepped back and took his hands in her own as she looked up at him eagerly. "Where is it?" Her voice was almost a hush as she asked. He looked down at her, straightening himself, and offered his arm to her with a smile.

"If you'd be so kind as to accompany me," he said to her.

"I thought you'd never ask," she replied to him.

She slipped her hand into the crook of his arm and once again the pair was off.

* * *

"Oh my god." Her whisper cracked. Walking around the small shrub was odd, but something inside her just _knew_ what it was. She stood opposite of him and covered her mouth with one hand as she dropped to her knees before it.

"It'll take some time to grow," he told her. "And some time to shape and fix-up properly, of course. Y'know, maintenance 'n all." He shrugged. "But…" He walked around and crouched down next to her, wrapping an arm around her and bringing her close. "It'll be all ours." He kissed the top of her head gently.

After a moment she looked up at him. There were tears in her eyes. "Will it look like…?" Her voice trailed off as memories flashed through her mind.

"The other one? Well, I suppose," he said with a small shrug, looking back at the plant. "It can look like anything you'd like."

"...even that old blue box?"

He was silent for a moment. "The thing is, it wasn't meant to look like that all the time. Got stuck like that somehow years ago and I never managed to fix it. The Chameleon Circuit should work properly on this one."

She was silent, but nodded slightly as she stared at it. He watched her for a long while, wondering whether or not this had been such a good idea after all.

"Rose, look at me."

After several moments, she did.

"Rose, you need to be honest with me." As he said this he searched her face, that beautiful face he loved more than anything, now stained with tears because of him. He took a deep breath. "Do you want to keep growing it? A new TARDIS?"

She stared at him. Did she? Would it be like it was before? A life of constant adventure, danger at every turn, never knowing where you're going to end up. Her heart began to race with excitement as she thought back to all the adventures from so long ago. The rush it gave her to see him flip the switches and turn the dials and send them off to who-knew-where. All the excitement from before began to pulse through her once again...until she remembered.

"I'm growing it for us," he said. He gently took her hand in his as he watched her suddenly hold her stomach. "All three of us." His voice was softer.

Rose stared down at her stomach, their hands folded together. Together. That's what they were now, and that's how it could always be. Forever. And to have another addition would be…

"Perfect," she said quietly as tears rolled down her face once more, though she smiled brightly. A wide grin spread across her Doctor's face as he heard her.

"Brilliant!" he said and she laughed, her voice still a bit shaky. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face into his jacket. He wrapped his own tightly around her, never wanting to let her go. She was his rose, his beautiful, _beautiful _Rose Tyler. As they sat there, surrounded by a fiery sea of leaves, everything in the universe was perfect. And it wouldn't be long before he could whisk his Rose away into that so very perfect universe, showing her and their new child countless stars and galaxies and other worlds beyond their imagination...

Off making their own memories…

Together.

* * *

_Hi, everyone! Ok, so this is my first story on here aaaaaaaaaaaaaand..._

_I'm SUPER excited for this character!_

_So please read and review/comment, and I'll do my best to have the next chapter up soon!_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

* * *

"Is she going to look odd?"

"Mum!"

"Jackie, please."

Jackie looked around the table innocently, her eyes wide. "What? I'm just wondering." She gave a small shrug and looked back down to her hand. "Y'know, 'cos he's not exactly _normal_." She studied a card and then set it down on top of one of the several small stacks on the table. Her daughter rolled her eyes.

"Mum, I've told you. He's human. Full, 100% human."

"Honestly, Jackie. I think you just need to stop stressing out about this so much," Pete said, not looking up from the business section. "Our granddaughter will be perfect."

"I suppose you're right." Jackie sighed. After a moment she looked up, confused. "Where is he, anyway?"

"Oh, you know him," Rose said dismissively. "How he likes to disappear every once in awhile. Tea?" She quickly got up to put the kettle on. Her mother sighed again and shook her head.

"I don't understand him at all. Here you are, nearly 7 months pregnant with his kid and he _still_ goes off to do who-knows-what who-knows-where!" Rose cringed at the sound of disapproval.

"_What are we going to tell mum and dad? They're going to think you're being funny or something, sneaking off all the time."_

"He's busy, mum, that's all."

"_Rose, do you really want to tell them? Do you want Jackie to think I'm stealing you again?" _

"What kind of man is too busy for his own wife?"

"_I suppose not. But we'll have to tell them eventually." _

"Mum, it's fine."

_He kissed her forehead and looked at her. "We will, when it's ready," he promised._

"I just -" The loud screech of the kettle's whistle cut her off and Rose quickly hushed it. She let out a long sigh, squeezing her eyes shut as she stood with her back to them. Then she heard the front door open.

Then close.

Then footsteps.

And rustling of bags.

"Rose! I stopped by the shop and picked up some aubergine and jaffa cakes like you asked!" She glanced back, seeing him turn the corner into the kitchen. "How long are these weird cravings-" He stopped in the doorway, seeing Jackie and Pete at the table. "Oh. Hullo, Jackie! Pete." He flashed a grin and set the bags on the counter next to Rose. She looked up at him and gave him a pained smile. Now her parents would leave and they could spend some time together. That thought had kept her pushing through all evening.

"Rose," he said, still grinning. Her Doctor leaned down and stole a kiss, squeezing her hand gently as he did so. The sound of Pete clearing his throat broke them apart.

"I think we'll be going now," her father told them, obviously somewhat uncomfortable. He nodded to his wife. "Jackie?"

"Right, right," Jackie agreed. Rose watched in silent relief as they stood up and gathered their coats. "G'night!" Jackie quickly hurried for the front door, Pete right behind. She rested her head against his chest as they watched the door close behind them.

* * *

"They were driving me completely mad!" Even her biggest t-shirt was almost too tight on her, she noted. Great.

"They're just worried parents," he called from their bedroom. "We're going to be the same way someday." Rose groaned loudly.

"If I ever am-" she poked her head out from the bathroom and looked at him "-just shoot me." He laughed and sat back against the headboard, looking back down at his notebook.

"Oh, no. I could never do that, Rose Tyler," he said. She leaned against the door frame, staring at him as he scribbled across the paper. What he was doing she had no idea, but that look of pure concentration etched across his face never failed to captivate her. The way he would become so enveloped and focused on whatever he was doing that it seemed as if he was writing down a plan on how to save the world, even if it was something as simple as a grocery list. Rose easily could've stood there forever, watching him like this. Finally she walked over and crawled into the bed next to him. She was always so curious of what he could possibly doing in that book of his, but as she moved to rest her chin on his shoulder he quickly closed it and set it aside. He glanced down at her, an eyebrow raised.

"Problem?" She sighed and sat back, crossing her arms and looking away.

"Nope. No problem. No reason for me to be curious as to what's in that little book of yours." He laughed lightly and leaned over to kiss her head.

"None at all, Rose Tyler," he agreed. She rolled her eyes and shook her head, although she grinned at the same time. Her Doctor gently caressed her face, bringing it closer to his until their lips brushed lightly. His eyes met hers and he could read the sleepiness in them, at which he smiled. He kissed her softly and then looked at her. "Get some sleep," he said.

Not wanting to argue she yawned and gave him a nod. "Right." He watched as she laid back against her pillow and rolled over, her back to him. He watched the gentle rise and fall of her side and he smiled. Leaning over carefully he brushed back a few strands of blonde hair and whispered softly into her ear, just as he had every night,

"I love you."

* * *

_Alright, this chapter may not be as good as the other one, but that's only cuz this one was a bit rushed and was written while I had small family children over._

_So my apologies to everyone who took the time to read this horrible update, but thank you for finishing it! _


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

* * *

Outside the room he could hear Jackie's calm and caring voice…

"What the hell do you mean I'm not allowed in there?! That's my _daughter_! And I'm going to be in there when she has my _only grandchild_!"

"Ma'am, I'm sorry but she requested that-"

"_**Excuse me? **_Rose would never-! Rose? Rose! Rose, tell him to let me in! Rose!"

By the third "I will break down this door!" he had tuned her out. All he wanted to focus on was his beautiful, gentle Rose…

"AGHHHHHHHH. GOD, MAKE IT STOP. DOCTOR, MAKE IT STOP!"

He felt so helpless as he kneeled next to her bed, holding her hand in his. Well, more like his hand getting the life squeezed out of it by hers as she strangled it with strength he had been seriously unaware that she had. But he stayed by her side, stroking her cheek gently with his free hand, trying to keep her calm as he could. It killed him to see her like this, her face twisted in so much more pain than he had ever seen on anyone. And he was completely useless.

"Rose," he said quietly. "Rose, you can do this." She cried so loudly. Tears streamed down her face as she screamed out again and as much as he wanted to he refused to look away. He refused to leave her alone for even a second.

Another screech of pain. He kissed her hand over and over again. Another spasm ran through her body. "Breathe, Rose," he told her. "C'mon, Rose."

She screamed again and shook her head over and over. "I can't...I can't do this!" she cried. The nurse glanced back at him, gesturing to him that it was just about time. He took a deep breath and nodded.

"Rose Tyler," he began. He gently reached up and stroked her face again. "My beautiful, strong Rose Tyler. Listen to me. You are the strongest person I know, and I've meet so many people. Nobody else could ever have done the things I have seen you do. You stared into the time vortexand _lived_. For several moments you were all of time and space!" He flashed her a broad grin and through the tears she managed a small, pained laugh. There came another howl. Gently, he pressed his forehead against hers. "Rose Tyler, I know that you can do this and so much more."

"Mr Tyler." A male voice came from behind and he glanced back. "I think we're ready to begin."

* * *

"Oh, Rose Tyler," her Doctor said with a huge grin across his face. His eyes shone with tears. "You were absolutely brilliant." She gave a shaky laugh, looking up at him.

"Really?" She had never felt so exhausted before. Cupping her face with his hands he wiped the tears from her cheeks as he continued to grin.

"So much more than you will ever know." He pressed his lips to her forehead, until a soft cry came from just below in Rose's arms. "And you," he said as he looked down at their new baby girl, beaming. "Are positively magnificent." And as if in response she let out another soft cry. Rose smiled and gently kissed the top of her head.

"Where is she? Where's my little - oh my god, she's precious!" Jackie rushed over to Rose's bedside, cooing loudly over the tiny infant. "She's absolutely perfect, Rose!" she said. "She looks just like you did!"

"See? And you were all worried she'd look like a freak," came Pete's voice as he followed his wife into the room. He laughed and looked at his granddaughter and then at Rose. "She's beautiful," he told her. Rose smiled again and looked back down.

"Thanks, dad."

Her Doctor sat on the edge of the bed next to her, gently stroking Rose's hand as she held the baby. _Their_ baby. "Rose," he said softly. He'd never asked to hold a baby before, let alone his own. Frankly, he never thought he would. He didn't even know how to begin. "Er, Rose…?"

"Hm?" She looked up from the baby and judging by his somewhat awkward and unsure expression she assumed he was wanting a turn with the baby. She laughed. "Here." Carefully, she placed her in his arms, gently supporting her head as she showed him how to do it. You don't know the pureness of innocence and overwhelming joy until you hold your firstborn, he quickly figured out.

"What're you going to name her?" she heard her mother ask quietly. Rose looked up at her Doctor, who was still completely absorbed in the tiny human in his arms, and then back at Jackie, frowning slightly.

"To be honest," she admitted. "We never really thought about names. We just thought it would come to us when the moment was right."

"Well, she's got to have a name," Pete said, giving her a puzzled look. Rose laughed.

"Of course, dad. I just-"

"Jo."

Everyone looked at her Doctor.

"Er, what?" Jackie asked. He looked up at them, as if they were missing something obvious.

"Jo," he repeated. "Short for JoHanna, maybe?" He grinned. "I've always loved the name for some reason. Never got a chance to use it til now." A smile spread across Rose's face, her eyes flickering between him and the baby.

"I like it. Jo Tyler." As if on cue the baby girl's eyes opened ever so slightly as she yawned loudly. She looked around for a moment, obviously wondering what everyone was looking at. Even as an infant one could be curious as to what was going on. She sleepily looked up at the man holding her and the girl next to him and it was her turn to smile.

"Well, Jo Tyler," her grandfather said, his voice cracking slightly. No way he was going to let Jackie and Rose see him cry! "Welcome to the world."

* * *

_Ok, so this one might have seemed a bit rushed too and I apologize. I'm trying to get certain stuff written so it's already out there and I can focus a bit more on the things that aren't totally planned out yet. _

_Plus, this one was kind of hard to write..._

_Anyway, when I get to that certain point I'll probably be updating once or twice every week, for those who are following this._

_Thank you so much for reading it thus far! Please leave comments/reviews!_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

* * *

There was an odd taste in his mouth that morning. He kept making faces as he tried to identify it.

"Are you alright?" Martha asked him slowly, her expression confused with a hint of concern for his sanity.

"Hm, what?" He looked over at her across the control panel. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You've been making faces all morning."

"What? No I haven't."

"Yes, you have! All morning I've been looking at this." She began to make the same ridiculous faces he'd been making: opening her mouth as wide as she could, sticking her tongue out as if she were asked to say "Ahhh," and shaking her head like a dog trying to dry off. Overall, she looked-

"-as if you've eaten something awful." The Doctor stared at her, his eyebrows bunching together in utter confusion. "Did you eat some of cheese I told you not to? I told you it was from 1856 and probably spoiled."

"What? No! I-ugh, whatever." She turned back to the dials and buttons and levers on the panel. "Just, go brush your teeth or something."

He opened his mouth to speak when she shot him a look, and so rather he sucked air into his cheeks and spun around on his heels to head off to the little Time Lord's room. Out of the corner of her eye Martha watched him walk away and she sighed, shaking her head. He was positively hopeless.

The Doctor loved a lot of things. Physics, history, bananas. But not pears. His reflection in the mirror made a disgusted face. Pears were horrid. He glanced around in search of his toothbrush. But if there was one thing he loved more than his TARDIS it was his-

Hold on. He leaned close to the mirror, toothbrush still in his mouth and his eyebrows scrunched together. "What the-?" But there was nothing but a handsome Time Lord staring back at him, confusion all over his face. Eyes narrowed suspiciously he straightened back up and quickly glanced around, wondering if there was anyone(or anything) behind him. But he was alone.

The Doctor slowly began to brush his teeth again, though he kept his eyes locked on the mirror. Whatever it was it was gone-

"Oh! There!" The toothbrush clattered against the floor as in fell from his mouth as he jumped back. "Oh! Oh, what is _that_?" Grabbing the sides of the sink his nose was once again pressed right up against the mirror. There it was again! He whirled around once, twice, but nothing else was in the room with him. Then he had an idea. "Martha!" he called through the door. "Martha, are our coordinates locked?"

Hearing his muffled voice she glanced around the panel until the she found the screen. "Er, no? It looks like we're sort of orbiting this-"  
"Lock them! Lock them now!"

Martha glanced in the direction of the bathroom, a bit hesitant. "Doctor, I don't understand…"

"Just do it!" She sighed and quickly pressed the appropriate buttons to lock them in place.

There was a sudden jolt as the TARDIS stopped moving and he fell back against the wall, then quickly looked at the mirror. "There you are," he said aloud. Along with his reflection was the ghostly image of girl, no older than three or four years, in what appeared to be a family room. There didn't seem to be anything special or particular about the girl - all she was doing was paging through what looked like a picture book. "So why are you in my mirror?" he asked.

And then he saw her. No. It wasn't possible. There was no way it could've been-

"Rose Tyler." The Doctor stumbled back a bit. Rose..._his _Rose was in his mirror? "But how?" His voice cracked. Running a hand through his hair he leaned against the wall as he watched the mirror, Rose and the little girl. She had sat down next to her, playing with her hair as she continued to look through the book. Rose looked so...happy. At peace. He beamed. She looked absolutely beautiful, and the girl looked just like her.

It hit him like an asteroid. That was _her _daughter. For a split second it was as if both his hearts had stopped. Had he been given the chance and the life that he'd wanted, that could've been _their_ child, _their_ daughter. It felt as if the TARDIS was exploding inside of him, scattering him all across the universe as he watched them. Rose said something softly to her and the girl giggled, looking up at her mother.

Through the pain of seeing the family he could've had he still grinned. He grinned at the sight of seeing Rose so happy. He grinned at the sight of her and her beautiful daughter. He grinned at the sight of how even in spite of all the pain and torment he knew she went through, she was finally happy where she was. "Oh, Rose Tyler," he said as he stared at the mirror, nothing but admiration and longing written all over his face. "You are positively brilliant."

* * *

Martha leaned against the control panel, arms crossed and eyes downcast. What the hell was taking so long? What could he be doing in there? It'd been almost 45 minutes. "Oh, there you are," she said when she finally heard his footsteps coming back. He glanced up at her as he walked up to the control panel, searching for the coordinates screen. Martha raised an eyebrow and took a step towards him. "You alright?" He looked up, a grin spreading across his face again.

"I'm brilliant," he told her. She narrowed her eyes disbelievingly.

"Are you sure?" She watched him as he began to scribble something down.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" She shrugged.

"I dunno, maybe-"

"There!" He threw the pen down as if he just finished writing the next bestseller. "Now!" He turned and walked past her to the other side of the panel. "Fancy a day in ancient Egypt? I just love the pyramids! And, King Tut's not too bad on the eyes," he added, winking at Martha. She stared at him for the longest time, but in the end simply shook her head and laughed.

"Why not?" As he began to excitedly flip switches and spin dials Martha glanced down at the paper he had scribbled on. At first it just looked like a bunch of numbers, but then she realized that they were the coordinates he'd wanted her to lock the TARDIS onto. Why? What was so special about them? She sighed and looked back up at him, the man she had fallen so hard so fast for, and realized that she was never going to understand anything he did. It didn't take but a few minutes for him to catch her staring at him, but he only flashed her another broad grin as he flipped the lever.

"Allon-sy!"

* * *

_I have to apologize for this one. A lot has been going on so it was kind of hard putting this scene into actual words(it went so much smoother in my head)._

_An explanation for how this all happened will come soon enough, so please don't get upset with me and say this stuff made no sense. I promise it will. _

_Any way, this should be the last chapter before I set a day for when updates will be posted._

_Please review/comment! Thank you!_


	5. QUICK UPDATE, SORRY

_Quick update:_

_I've been getting a few things questioning my choice in name for their daughter. I know it's a bit odd, but I really just needed a name for "Jo" to be short for, and "Jocelyn" was the only one that I really took any interest to. As she gets older it'll be obvious that she's a total replica of her dad, and therefore kinda a tomboy and would rather be called "Jo" than some girly name. So yea, I apologize if some people think it's kind of a weird name or think it should be different(I may change it to JoHanna or something, suggestions before the next update next week would be helpful if anyone has a better idea) but that was all I could think of at the moment._

_Trust me, I was looking up names for HOURS for her._


	6. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

* * *

She couldn't help it that she was nervous. The first days were always nerve-wracking, especially when it was the first day of all first days: the very first day of school. The whole morning was busy - waking up, getting ready, eating breakfast, making sure her bag was packed and ready to go. Finally, it was time, and when she got to the door she took a deep breath, then crouched down to look her daughter in the eyes.

"Jo," Rose began, looking her daughter over. Dressed up in the school's uniform, Jo looked ready to take on the day headfirst. But that didn't calm her mother in the slightest. She kept opening and closing her mouth as if she wanted to speak, looking her up and down over and over.

"Mum, are you ok?" Jo asked her as she raised an eyebrow. Rose laughed nervously and shook her head.

"I-I'm fine, I'm fine." She rubbed her eyes with her hand, doing her best not to start crying. Finally she looked back at Jo. "So. Are you ready?" Jo flashed her a grin. God, she looked just like her father.

"'course I'm ready, mum!" Rose laughed quietly again.

"Good," she told her. "'cos-"

"It's time to go." The two girls looked over and Rose nodded. Her Doctor grinned and laughed. "Rose, c'mon. She'll be fine." He walked over, hands in his pockets, and looked down at them. "Besides, she _is_ a Tyler." Rose bit her lip and glanced between the two.

"You're right, you're right." She looked at Jo and gave her the biggest smile. "You're going to be brilliant," she told her. "I just know it. But, if you need anything, _anything_ you call me or your dad, ok?" Jo gave her a salute.

"Ok!" Rose laughed and kissed her gently on the the top of her head as she stood back up. Her Doctor wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her head as they both looked down at their little girl.

"Ready?"

"Yes!" Jo gave them a grin. Her dad laughed and opened the door.

"Ladies first," he said with a bow. Jo giggled and grabbed her bag and hurried out the door. As she reached the end of the walk she glanced back at her mother and waved. Rose, holding back tears, waved back. Her Doctor kissed her head again and headed out after Jo. He met her at the end and he looked down, offering his hand to her. Rose watched in silence as Jo looked up, smiling, and took his hand. Everything about Jo was her father. Same brown hair, same mannerism, same natural smirk. Hand in hand, the pair turned left and headed down the road, and Rose slowly closed the door.

* * *

"Are you excited?" he asked, glancing down at her. She nodded happily, her pigtails bouncing as she did. He laughed. "Good. You should be."

"Did you like school?" she asked. He was quiet for a moment as he searched for an answer.

"Well," he began. "I'm not sure I've met anybody who didn't like school. Primary school, anyway. But you, my dear." Her dad looked down at her again and she looked up. He grinned. "You have absolutely nothing to worry about."

It was another five minutes or so before they were at the gates to the large school. For the first time he could ever remember she actually looked nervous. In the 5 years he and Rose had raised her he had never seen any sort of fear or nervousness on her face, but now there was no hiding it. "Hey," he said, crouching down next to her. Her eyes were locked on the huge double doors leading into the school foyer as countless children of seemingly all ages flooded by the masses through them. "Hey, look at me." Finally, she tore away from the sight and turned to him. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Daddy…" She took a deep breath. "Daddy, what if I'm not as smart as the other kids? What if they don't like me? What if-" She stopped at the sound of his laughing. Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing." He took her tiny hands in his and looked at her. "Jo Tyler, you are the smartest, most brilliant little girl I have ever met. You are going to go in there and have the best day of your life. And you know what?"

"What?"

"Tonight, when you get home, you can tell us all about it. Deal?" Jo glanced over at the school, then back at her dad. Mustering up the best smile she could manage, she nodded.

"Deal." He grinned, holding out his arms. She fell forward and wrapped her arms around his neck as he squeezed her tightly. After a long moment she felt him kiss her head and she pulled back and looked at him.

"Now," he said, still grinning. "Go be brilliant." She nodded and stepped back. Then, taking a deep breath, she turned and headed off through the gate towards the stairs. He stood up as he watched her stop just before the steps. She glanced back at him and he gave her nod. She nodded slowly in return and gave him a small salute. She faced the stairs once more and he watched her disappear through the doors. Once she was gone he stood there for another few minutes, hands in his coat pockets, as other parents passed by with their kids to say their own goodbyes. He looked around at the sea of families and after another minute or so he turned and began to head back down the sidewalk, walking past all the small shops and houses as he headed back home to check up on Rose before he headed to work.

* * *

"Rose?" he called as he opened the door when he got home a few minutes later. There was silence through the house. He closed the door slowly and looked around. "Rose?" he called again, raising an eyebrow. Still nothing. Alright, now he was worried. "Rose!" He ran through house and called her name over and over again. But there was still no response. Breathing heavily he made his way back to the kitchen and sunk into a chair. He ran a hand through his hair and looked around, trying to figure out his next move. And then he saw it - a note, at the other edge of the table. It was almost as if there had been no table between him and the note as he dove across and grabbed it. Once in hand his eyes quickly scanned the piece of paper, and it only took two seconds before he jumped up from the chair and sprinted towards the door.

* * *

Hi, everybody! Sorry for the delay. I have a lot going on right now and I'm doing my best to update as much as I can. I've also been thinking a lot about Rose and the Metacrisis Doctor's daughter's name, and I'm thinking maybe changing it to JoAnna? Thoughts?

The ending of this was a bit rushed, but other than that I'm kinda happy with this one.

Please comment/review/follow/favorite! And thank you to those who have stuck with it this long!


	7. Chapter 6

_**Chapter Six**_

* * *

By the time he reached the edge of the forest it was already quarter past nine o'clock, and therefore he was late for work. But that was the last thing on his mind. His coat flapped behind him in the wind as he sprinted through the trees, jumping over rocks and branches. He was nearly out of breath when he made it to the tiny brook, but it didn't stop him as in a single leap he was across the stream without missing a single beat. Leaves crunched under his feet as he ran for what felt like hours. But he still refused to stop. Not until he knew she was alright.

"Rose!" At the sound of her name she whirled around, her eyes wide in surprise when she saw him running towards her.

"Doctor?" She crossed her arms and took a small step forward; he had slowed down to a jog, and then he stopped just in front of her. He doubled over as he caught his breath. "Doctor, what's wrong?" Now she was worried. "Where's Jo?" He waved a hand dismissively, still trying to breathe normally again.

"She's...she's fine," he said. He straightened up, looking around and putting his hands in his pockets. He took a deep breath as he looked back at her. "I just wanted to make sure you were."

Rose stared at him, speechless. All she had done was leave a note to let him know where she was going. And she had done it specifically so he wouldn't freak out like this. "Doctor," she finally began as she closed the small gap between them. "Doctor, I'm fine. Honest. Look at me." She stretched out her arms and spun around in a little circle. "See?" He laughed lightly, but still looked her over quickly. She smiled and crossed her arms again, hugging herself as she looked back up at him.

"Rose." His voice was softer. "What's wrong?" She stared at him for a long while without saying a word. And then she broke down in tears. "Hey. Hey, hey, hey." He gently grabbed her shoulders and hunched down to look her in the eyes. "Rose, what's the matter?" Sobbing, she fell forward into him and he quickly caught her and held her. "Rose." He rubbed his hand on her back in small circles as she cried against his chest.

"It all went by so fast." She hiccuped. "All of it. Soon she's going to go off on her own and grow up and won't need us anymore and, and- I just dunno how I'm going to do get through this." Her voice trailed off and ever small break between muffled sobs she could hear him laughing. She sucked in a quick breath and looked up at him. "What?" He shook his head and continued to laugh. "What?" She broke away from him, glaring at him. How dare he laugh at her while she cried like this! How dare-

"Rose, that'll be years from now." He finally stopped laughing and looked at her. He sighed. "I know it all seems like it flew by so fast, believe me. But isn't that how it works?" Rose's glare softened, and she reached up to wipe her cheek with her sleeve. "We reach a point when everything that we enjoyed was all a blur, all jumbled up into mush." She stared at him and he grinned, waving his arms and spinning in circles like he did. "And that's the beauty of it! Everything flew by so fast because we loved it! And all of it leading up to here so we can have more time to do more things that we love! More memories we can make!" She shook her head a bit, obviously confused. "Do you remember all those adventures we had together? All the planets we visited, all the people we met, all the things we saw?" She nodded.

"Yeah, o-of course but-"

"And looking back now it all seems like it went by too fast, right?" Again, she nodded. "That's what I mean! Looking back now it all seems like a big blur but at the time it was so wonderful and brilliant and it still is! But in here!" He grabbed his head with both hands as he continued with excitement. "Now they're memories and they are fantastic! And now. Now!" He grabbed her hands and kissed them. "Now we can look back at these past few years the same way! With the same happy longing that we look back at those adventures! All leading up to this one. This adventure we're on right now, with Jo. With each other! But! We couldn't have gotten here if we hadn't've gained those memories, now could we?" Rose shook her head again, but now she was laughing. He grinned. "And just think! All the years that we still have with her, all the new adventures we still get to have with her. One day we'll get to another point like this and wonder where all these years went, how the hell they could've gone by so fast. But we'll know that it meant that we simply had the greatest adventures with her! And that we'll have even more to come."

He finished his excited spiel and he took a deep breath as he stared at her, waiting for her to say something. But Rose could only laugh. He blinked and searched her face, unsure of what to do.

"Doctor." Rose stared at him, smiling bigger than he'd seen her do in a long time. "My wonderful Doctor. You are the greatest man I have ever met, you know that, right?" He grinned and pulled her into a sudden kiss.

After what felt like a blissful eternity they broke apart and he pressed his forehead against hers, still holding onto her tightly. They both broke into a small fit of laughter.

"So," he said after a moment as he glanced around. "What are you, doing out here?" Rose sighed and gestured over her shoulder behind her. He looked past her.

"I wanted to check on it, y'know?" She turned around and took his arm, leaning against him as they both headed towards the small bush. It had grown considerably since Rose had last seen it. "I just thought that maybe…" She took a deep breath and looked down. "Maybe everything wouldn't seem like it's going by so fast." He glanced down at her, then looked back at the tree. "How much longer?" He shrugged.

"Still got a few years before I can start working on the inside," he said. "But…" She looked up at him. "I think it'll be ready but at least her eighteenth birthday." Rose squeezed his arm and he glanced down, giving her a grin. "C'mon." He started to turn back around to the way they'd come, and the two headed off.

"Hey," she said after a few minutes of them walking. "Shouldn't you be at work?"

* * *

"-and we got to play with all sorts of colours of clay and-!"

"Sounds like you had quite a day," her dad said, watching his daughter attack her bowl of ice cream. Jo nodded and scooped another mouthful of the treat into her mouth. Rose leaned against the counter, fixing two other bowls of ice cream. Jo had been home for barely 5 minutes and she hadn't shut up once.

"And Miss Hattie said that my cat was tray magnifeeck!" Her parents laughed.

"See?" She looked over at her dad. "And you were scared of even going through the gate!" Jo shrugged and ate another spoonful of ice cream as Rose set down another two bowls on the table and sat next to him.

"I was just playing with you, daddy," she said simply. "I wanted to make sure you and mum would be ok without me." Spoon in her mouth Rose gently nudged him and laughed. He grinned at his two girls.

"Of course we would. But we're even better with our whole team together."

* * *

_Heyo! Two chapters in one day! _

_How about that?!_

_Anyway, I hadn't meant for chapter 5 to end the way it did, and I had a lot to get off my mind today so I thought, "Eh, why not?"_

_And what Jo is trying to say is "très magnifique" that's just how her 5 year old self heard and said it._

_So yeah. I dunno how well this turned out but I needed a dump so ta-da._

_Please comment/review/favorite/follow!_

_Thank you!_


	8. Chapter 7

_**Chapter Seven**_

* * *

There was a small click as she hung up the phone, and he glanced up from his notebook.

"What?" Rose was silent as she stared down at the counter. Behind her she could hear Jo shuffle through her colouring pages at the table. "Rose," he said a little louder. He set his notebook to the small table next to the couch as he began to stand up. "Rose, everything alright?" She turned around, crouching down next to Jo as she continued to colour,

"Hey," she said. Jo glanced over at her mother, who smiled warmly. "How would you like to stay the night with Nan and Granddad tonight, hm? You could tell Tony all about your new school." Jo's face lit up as she nodded.

"Yeah!" Rose laughed and nudged her gently.

"Go on and get a bag ready. We'll head off in a bit." Leaving her papers and crayons scattered across the table Jo hopped down from the chair and ran off to her room.

"Rose, what's going on?" It took her a moment, but she sighed and stood back up, arms crossed. When she didn't answer he took a step forward and gently rubbed her shoulders. "Rose. Who was on the phone?" He felt her tense beneath his hands, and then she slowly turned to face him. Her voice was shaky as she began to speak.

"Th-that was her teacher," she told him quietly. "Sh-she asked if she could come o-over tonight to talk a-about J-J-..." Her voice broke off into a sob as she fell against him, as she had so many times over the years.

"Shhhh. Shhh, shh, shh." He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, resting his chin on her head. "Rose," he said after a few minutes. "Rose, you have to calm down." He rubbed her back slowly as she continued to cry loudly. "Rose, what did Miss Hattie say?" He felt her take a deep breath before he heard her muffled voice.

"She said that there are some...concerns she has about Jo. And she wanted to know if it was possible for us to meet with her tonight."

There was a heavy silence as he took in what she had said. Someone thought that there was something wrong with his daughter. Someone had concerns about his precious daughter. His perfect little girl that everyone loved, that everyone always went on about. About how brilliant she was, how clever she was, how imaginative she was. Never once had they had anyone tell them that they had concerns of any sort about her.

"I'm sure everything is fine," he told her, doing his best to cover the shakiness in his voice. They stood there for a long while, his arms wrapped tightly around her as she buried her face so deeply into his tshirt that he was afraid that soon there'd be nothing left of it.

And just around the corner sat Jo, on the floor with her back against the wall, listening to everything.

* * *

"Did Jackie say anything?" he called when she came back. He was sitting at the table when she walked into the kitchen, and she shook her head.

"No. Dad was driving her crazy when I got there. Kept going on and on about some new drink he's working on." They both laughed quietly, both trying to keep the mood light. She slowly sat down next to him and he reached over and took one of her hands in his. Eyes focused blankly on the table she didn't move, but he still watched her closely. He hated seeing her like this. She could get so worked up and overwhelmed that she would just stop altogether. He searched her face as he looked for what to say or do, something that would get her to actually talk to him, rather than make short comments. She needed to be calm, collected before Jo's teacher showed up.

"Hey," he said, breaking the silence. "You wanna eat something before she comes?" He quickly got up and headed for the cupboards in search of a quick bite. "It might-"

That was a knock at the door.

They both looked towards the hallway, leading towards the door. He glanced back at Rose, holding his breath as he watched her next move carefully. But she only sat there motionless. He slowly shut the cupboard door and took a sidestep to her, helping her out of the chair and out of the kitchen. It was as if she was in a daze of sorts, as if she couldn't quite properly function. "Come on," he said gently as they made their way to the door. The knocking came again and he about kicked the door down out of frustration. They stood before it, neither moving. Taking in a deep breath he began to reach past her when suddenly Rose stepped forward and grabbed the doorknob. He watched her in surprised silence as she, back to him, slowly reached up with her other hand to turn the lock.

There was a soft click, and she opened the door.

* * *

_Hey, everyone._

_Sorry this took so long. The last few weeks of school were hell to get through, so I struggled to do anything, really._

_Anyway, I apologized for the lateness as well as the rushedness of this. I just needed to get something up._

_Hopefully now that school's out I'll get into a better habit with my writing/publishing._

_Oh. And her name is now officially JoHanna Elizabeth Tyler._

_Please comment, review, etc._


End file.
